AMHERST – At the age of seven, Fawthrop first became a YMCA member. At the age of 17 he joined the Royal Canadian Navy. While growing up in Y programs and maturing in the RCN, Fawthrop developed a positive approach to service to community and service to country.
After serving on Amherst town council for the past 15 years, Fawthrop sees a number of the town's achievements through the YMCA’s Body, Mind and Spirit approach to life.
“Projects such as renewing our infrastructure, developing Victoria Square and the downtown area, rejuvenating Dickey Park and the new lagoon style sewage treatment facility are prime examples of council's work to make Amherst a desirable place to live,” Fawthrop said.
He said the mind of the community is enhanced by the arts, culture and heritage strategy, the hiring of an arts co-ordinator, the initiation of an arts committee and the ongoing work of the 12-member Amherst youth council.
“A healthy community needs a vibrant spirit. The spirit of our community is celebrated in our Cumberland Y which now has over 1,000 members,” Fawthrop said. “Our festivals such as Victorian Christmas, Four Fathers Days and the new Rockabilly Festival, and council's efforts to do the right thing for the new West Highlands school.”
In addition to being deputy mayor, Fawthrop is past chairman of CRDA; acting chairman of the Amherst Police Commission; vice-chair of the Cumberland Y, chairman of the arts committee; a volunteer on the Rockabilly Festival Committee; writer and director of theatre productions such as Frenchys': The Musical to raise money for local charitable organizations; and founder of the Tantramar Radio Players for Tantramar FM.
Fawthrop's council to do list for the next four years includes the development of a special veterans project for downtown Amherst that may be the first of its kind in Canada, completion of new facilities for the Amherst Police Department; aggressively renewing town infrastructure, working closely with the Amherst and Area Chamber of Commerce for continued business growth and development and getting it right for West Highlands Elementary.
Fawthrop also wants to build on the overwhelming success of the first Rockabilly Festival, developing the role of the new arts and culture committee and working towards a Cultural Capital of Canada designation.
He also wants the town to use its tax dollars to improve the lifestyle of residents in the most effective and efficient ways.
dcole@amherstdaily.com
